Leadership and Talent Development in Saudi Arabia

1.0 Introduction

1.1 Background information

Most efforts aimed at developing leaders and talent normally fail, and yet the need and requirement for exceptional and outstanding leadership at all levels has never been any clearer. It is only by linking tightly leadership and talent development to value creation that educational sector and organization drive sustainable superior performance. In 2016 for example, Saudi Arabia (KSA) purposed to launch its vision 2030, and thus, came up with an ambitious, yet achievable roadmap that could enhance economic, as well as developmental action. Mohammed Bin Salman (who is the Council of Economic Affairs chairperson) set up various commitments, which could make Saudi Arabia have a global investment powerhouse, which connects Asia, Africa, as well as Europe (Changeboard, 2017). The need for strong leadership and talent has never been greater than it is today especially in the educational sector in Saudi Arabia, driving the urgent need to focus on:

Recruiting and retaining leaders and talent amid a growing and increasing shortage in global talent

Maintaining a robust and vibrant pipeline of strong, efficient leaders and talent to drive strategic objectives forward in various sectors including the celebrated education sector

Making sure that workforces and leaders have the necessary skills and capabilities to drive and push forward business impact considering that education is also a unique business.

Most organizations lack these focus, making the problem both a going concern and systemic. According to an annual global survey carried out over the last eight years, managing talent and improving leadership development have consistently remained in the red zone of future goodness and importance and low current capability.

To address and remedy these challenges, companies and organizations are investing more and more in suboptimal talent programs and leadership development. The programs often focus on certifications vis- a-vis learning since with time the two have proved inseparable. They take place outside of day-to-day business, are detached and disconnected from companies’ and organization’s strategic priorities, and often are not reconciled and harmonized with one another or with companies’ and organization’s talent systems. This approach is both value draining and resource-intensive leaves companies and organizations no better able to achieve strategic business objectives. Thus, organizations like the educational sector in Saudi are on course when it comes to talent management and its effect on leadership. From the foregoing, talent management remains a key consideration on leadership. Whoever becomes a leader must have the necessary talent that must be tapped at the very beginning through talent management. The importance of tapping talent for purposes of leadership cannot be underestimated. Plans of diversifying the Saudi Arabian economy away from various oil encompass multiple sectors, and involving significant improvement in terms of digital infrastructure requires the Kingdom to have a cost-effective and efficient workforce, across various industries (Dries, 2013). Moreover, the Kingdom needs to have a consistent pipeline, filled with productive workers that are equipped with the right skills, as well as capabilities. Presently, it is evident that Saudi Arabia lacks sufficient skill gaps that range from technology to leadership, and there is a miss-match between the higher education outputs, and the requirements needed in the Saudi Arabian job market, yet these are factors that are stressed on in the Kingdom’s 2030 vision (Changeboard, 2017). There is indeed an overt and existing mismatch between higher education output and job requirements in Saudi Arabia that has been highlighted in its 2030 vision and this was perceived by 82% of respondents from a survey conducted by Myung et al. (2011). Whilst employers in Saudi Arabia have the belief that nationals, western expats, as well as non-western migrant employees, are prepared suitably, for various workplaces, they acknowledge that there is lack of certain significant skills amongst the human resource. This then implies that there is need for talent enhancement and management to create leaders in the educational sector, as well as sufficient enhancement of leadership development, in order to prepare university students in Saudi Arabia, to partake certain jobs in the UK employment sector (Collings, 2014).

Approximately, three-quarter of the Saudi Arabian population is below 25 years. In line with this, more than 50 per cent of various university students are women, yet one core commitment that was expressed in the vision 2030 was to increase the participation of women in the workforce, precisely from 25% to 30% through talent management and leadership development, which significantly contribute towards the development of the Saudi society, and economy. In this regard, in attempting to meet the provisions of the vision 2030, the Saudi Kingdom has purposed to ensure that various educational institutions offer talent management programs so as create and give rise to strong leadership especially in educational sector, which are work-based, in order to prepare Saudi for a better future (Ashton & Morton, 2005). This is owing to the fact that talent management and leadership enhancement in the educational sector equip not only nationals but also migrant workers with significant practical skills, which employers require. Overall, it is significant to note that given that Saudi has most job requiring technical or job-specific skills, soft skills, as well as leadership skills, the mismatch between higher education output and the needs of the employers would require the incorporation of talent and skill development in the educational sector (Chami-Malaeb & Garavan, 2013). This is in order to build a better workforce in the implementation of the vision 2030. Impliedly, talent management plays an important role on leadership. It must be tapped to produce good leaders in future. In other words, leadership depends wholly on talent management and a country that taps talent at an early stage reaps the benefit of good leadership that automatically comes with it.

1.2 Aim and objectives

This study will aim at providing a deep understanding of the effects of talent management on leadership development in educational institutions, which consequently will safeguard the future of education in Saudi. The primary aim of the study is as presented below:

To provide a deep understanding of the effects of talent management on leadership development in Saudi Arabia’s educational sector

In a bid to meet the aim of the study, it will be broken down into achievable objectives as follows:

a. To determine how talent management impacts leadership development generally

b. To investigate how talent management program impacts leadership development in Saudi’s educational sector

c. To find out what employers need from graduates, in terms of talent management vis-a-vis leadership development

d. To investigate how talent management impacts leadership development on Saudi Arabia’s society and economy in general

1.3 Research Questions

In meeting the objectives of the research, this study poses the following questions, which if answered, will aid in achieving the primary aim of the study. The research questions are as presented below:

1. How does talent management impacts on leadership development?

2. What is the link between talent management and leadership development in the educational sector?

3. How does talent management and leadership development impact on Saudi’s society and economy?

4. What talent management and its impact on leadership development have on graduates upon recruitment?

1.4 Rationale and Justification

Owing to the large skill gap in Saudi Arabia, there is need for educational institutions to incorporate talent management to have strong leadership in the learning system, in order to secure the future of the present lack of sufficient and reliable workforce in the employment sector (Oladapo, 2014). Moreover, Saudi’s 2030 vision purposes to enforce a cost-effective and efficient workforce, across various industries, filled with productive workers that are equipped with the right skills, as well as capabilities. Presently, there is a miss-match between the higher education outputs, and the requirements needed in the Saudi Arabian job market, yet these are factors that are stressed on in the Kingdom’s 2030 vision, thus, creating the need to enhance talent management and leadership development in educational institutions (Alamri, 2011). Owing to these reasons, this study is justified.

2.0 Literature Review

Strategic HRM has been noted to be associated with improved work performance in profit and non-profit organizations in Saudi Arabia. Talent management is a popular term that covers various HRM practices, which focuses on talent pools. On the other hand, leadership development is of great significance to be taken note of, owing to the fact that strategic HRM requires workers to be effective leaders, other than having appropriate talents to tackle various organizational tasks (Smith & Abouammoh, 2013). Overall, leadership depends on talent management.

2.1 Historical Context

Over the past years, the Saudi Arabian education system has undergone various considerable changes, which have been fuelled by social, demographic, as well as economic pressures. The Saudi government had played a significant role in enforcing these changes (Mission, 2006). In line with this, the educational policy presently encourages people to have a longer stay at schools, or to further their education, whilst on the other hand, the education system in Saudi have been designed to adopt managerial approached, which enhances business management in the face of increased competition, as well as accountability (Asiri, 2012). In this regard, education institutions encourage the implementation of talent management in order to counter the increasing competition in business, which prioritizes employee talent skills and leadership, which employers consider whilst considering putting their workforce in leadership positions (Alkhazim, 2003). Moreover, talent management need to be proactive in Saudi’s educational system, owing to the fact that the society is like stakeholders to businesses, which look forward to employing the students who should be effective leaders once they become graduates.

2.2 Effects of talent management and leadership development to employers and the society

Ultimately, in a bid to nurture the economy of Saudi, there is need to develop an efficient, and a cost-effective workforce through enhancing a suitable education system that encourages talent management training in preparation for leadership in future (Krieger, 2007). Talent management impacts on leadership development and this enable employers in the KSA, to gain missing skills, and as well develop a consistent pipeline, which is filled with productive workers that are equipped with significant and right capabilities, which aid in handling various challenges, as well as opportunities that will be presented in the vision 2030 (Changeboard, 2017). Notably, a substantial opportunity is presented, which is in line with the commitment of a multi-faceted education that is in line with the vision 2030. According to Chami-Malaeb & Garavan (2013), this vision purposes to equip nationals, as well as potential workers with right skills, as well as capabilities, which consequently enables them to fulfil their required roles via appropriate training, and education methods, to enhance ongoing development that in turn contribute significantly towards the development of the Saudi’s society (Alamri, 2011). Developing an effective workforce involves three significant steps. The first is bridging the existing gap between employment and education (Alamri, 2011). This implies that employers would be encouraged to work with various education providers in Saudi, to develop a curricular that fits the purpose of employment and the development of a highly- standardized technical education that focuses on talent management programs and its impact on leadership (Smith & Abouammoh, 2013). The second involves perceiving higher education to be the best route of enhancing an effective career, whilst embracing alternatives. Notably, there is a disconnect between whatever is taught in higher education and what employers seek whilst employing new recruits (Changeboard, 2017). The third involves exploring the global skill standards of various industries. Notably, Saudi’s employment sector requires attracting and exporting its top talent, and leaders. In this regard, if talent can be tapped early enough, then leaders can have the confidence to recruit them as leaders, whilst supporting positive migrations (Dries, 2013).

Vision 2030 poses as a significant opportunity for Saudi Arabia, only if it is underpinned by an outward-looking, as well as effective skill system and education that is coupled up with talent management, which in turn affects leadership development (Dries, 2013). The significance of filling various gaps in the Saudi’s employment sector, in order to meet broader goals and ambitions in a business is rated high in a study conducted by Alamri (2011). This is owing to the fact that the absence of essential skills impacts negatively on various businesses in Saudi Arabia, and this consequently forces almost a half of businesses in Saudi to rely heavily on outsourcing, as well as expensive consultants (Oladapo, 2014). On the other hand, businesses in Saudi Arabia need effective leadership, owing to the fact that there is lack of effective leadership skills.

3.0 Methodology

3.1 Research design

This study will use descriptive research. The primary objective of this paper is to determine the effects of talent management and leadership management in the educational sector of Saudi Arabia. In meeting these objectives, this study will also use secondary data from scholarly books, journals, and websites. Additionally, primary data will be derived from the actual research process. Moreover, a pilot study will be conducted, to rectify the errors that will be identified before conducting the study. This study will be conducted in various educational institutions in Saudi Arabia

3.2 Research sample

A total of 30 lecturers from 5 universities will be used as participants for this study. Moreover, this study will use random sampling, in a bid to prevent biasness when it comes to selection of the participants. The participants will be chosen, based on their readiness, as well as willingness to participate in this study.

3.3 Methods of data collection

This study will use qualitative research in data collection. Based on qualitative research, the study will use questionnaires, composed of semi-structured questions. A semi-structured questionnaire was opted for this study, owing to the fact that it can easily be conducted, and it also prevents time wastage, as lecturers are often busy professions, who would not spend a lot of time being interviewed (Lindlof & Taylor, 2017).

3.4 Ethical considerations

This research will ensure that the responses of the participants will be treated with utmost confidentiality, thus, implying that only the researcher will have access to them (Taylor et al., 2015). This also implied that once the participants will be done by providing their answers, and the analysis will have been done, the questionnaires would be discarded. In facilitating confidentiality, the participants will not be asked to provide any personal detail about them on the questionnaire (Silverman, 2016). Moreover, the participants will have the opportunity to withdraw from participating if they developed a change of mind, and this would imply that if they had given part of their responses, it would be discarded immediately (Smith, 2015).

3.5 Analysis

The findings of this study will be analyzed using thematic analysis, where significant themes will be derived, from the results and expounded on.

References

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Krieger, Z. (2007). Saudi Arabia Puts Its Billions behind Western-Style Higher Education. Chronicle of Higher Education, 54(3).

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Myung, J., Loeb, S., & Horng, E. (2011). Tapping the principal pipeline: Identifying talent for future school leadership in the absence of formal succession management programs. Educational Administration Quarterly, 47(5), 695-727.

Oladapo, V. (2014). The impact of talent management on retention. Journal of business studies quarterly, 5(3), 19.

Smith, J. A. (Ed.). (2015). Qualitative psychology: A practical guide to research methods. Sage.

Taylor, S. J., Bogdan, R., & DeVault, M. (2015). Introduction to qualitative research methods: A guidebook and resource. John Wiley & Sons.